Upcycle or Recycle?

I have a confession: I did not upcycle most of my own children's clothing. Don't tell anybody! Just kidding. I have good reason. Most of their baby clothes were not meaningful to me, and they were in excellent condition when my children outgrew them. It seemed a shame to hold on to them when they still had life left in them and could be worn and enjoyed by other children. So we passed them on as hand-me-downs through the family and among our friends, or we gave them to our local consignment and secondhand shops.

But there were a few outfits that met one or both of the criteria I mentioned. Either they were MEANINGFUL to me or my children, or they could not really be worn and enjoyed by other children. Among those items that fit the first category, we have a knit Chewbacca shirt that my son just adored and featured in many family portraits from his first year, onesies with the Rush and Van Halen logos on them, so that my son and daughter could wear matching outfits with their dad, and a gorgeous purple dress that was a gift for my daughter from a very dear friend.

From the second group, clothing that was unlikely to be worn and enjoyed by other children, were some shirts and onesies with holes or tears, but with the main graphic or text still intact, and some personalized clothing. Of course there may be children with the same names as my children, but these items are unlikely to find a proper new owner, and are much better utilized in an upcycled creation where they can serve their original wearers in a new way.

So that is my general rule of thumb in a nutshell. It is unnecessary to save every item of clothing from a person in order to create an upcycled quilt. Clothes are meant to be worn, and if their useful life as clothing is not over, pass it on! Recycle! But if you just cannot part with an item because of its special significance, or if its useful life as clothing is probably at an end, let it be reborn! Upcycle!